Benefits#

For Victims

• Gives them a voice in the justice process.
• Encourages them to express their feelings about the incident and how it has impacted their lives.
• Helps determine what can be done to repair the harm done by the incident.
• May allow them to come to closure about the crime.
• Often reduces fear about the offender and possible re-victimization.

For Offenders

• Provides opportunity to accept responsibility for bad decisions and take action to repair harm caused by the crime.
• Shows clearly the crime's impact on the victims, community and families.
• Encourages using offender’s positive qualities in repairing harm.
• Connects offender and family to community resources as needed.
• Repairs harm done by the incident in a meaningful way
• Allows offenders to make choices about consequences for their actions

For Our Community

• Allows affected community members to express how the incident affected them, and participate in determining reparations.
• Includes the community in the exploration of harm caused by crime.
• Gives the Community a voice in the process of justice.
• Recognizes that crime happens in the context of community and community is important in repairing the harm of crime.
• Gives community members the opportunity to support the victim's healing and the offender’s accountability and reintegration into the community.